By IANS
Pretoria : The Arab League foreign ministers have unanimously agreed to appoint General Michel Suleiman as the compromise presidential candidate of Lebanon, South Africa’s deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad has said.
“A unanimous decision was taken to appoint General Michel Suleiman as a compromise presidential candidate for Lebanon, who has the support of both Syria and majority of political parties in Lebanon,” BuaNews agency Thursday quoted Pahad as saying at a press conference here Wednesday.
Aziz was recently in Egypt to attend the Arab League of foreign ministers meet in Cairo Jan 6, for selecting a compromise presidential candidate for Lebanon.
Lebanon has been without a president since Nov 23 when the mandate of pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud ended, and divisions between the Western-backed ruling majority and the opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, has deepened, raising fears that the country might be heading towards a new civil war.
The Lebanese parliament postponed 11 times voting to elect a new head of state, and a new effort on Jan 12 by the legislature met with no success.
During his just concluded Middle East tour, US President George W. Bush had insisted that the Lebanese stalemate must be resolved.
“It’s important to encourage the holding of immediate and unconditional presidential elections according to the Lebanese constitution,” Bush told a press conference Wednesday in Cairo wrapping up his eight-day Middle East visit and called on Syria, Iran and their allies not to interfere in the affairs of Lebanon and not to undermine the election process.